Top 10 Richest Table Tennis Players in 2026: Net Worth and Earnings

The richest table tennis players in the world are led by Ma Long, followed by Fan Zhendong and Wang Chuqin, based on titles, sponsorship and income as of October 2026. No verified net worth exists for any of them: Forbes and Bloomberg do not track the sport, and the best hard number is WTT prize money, topped in 2024 by Wang Chuqin at over $261,000.

That gap matters. Table tennis pays far less than football or tennis, so the money comes mostly from Chinese sponsors, European club contracts and, after retirement, coaching or official roles. Our top 10 below ranks players on that earning power, with every verifiable figure dated and sourced.

What is the net worth of the top 10 richest table tennis players?

Nobody has published an audited net worth for a table tennis player. Searches for “Ma Long net worth” or “Zhang Jike net worth” mostly return estimate sites that give no sources.

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Those estimates vary widely. CelebsMoney, for example, places Ma Long, Jan-Ove Waldner and Timo Boll in the same broad $100,000 to $1 million bracket for 2026, while other blogs quote much higher sums with no backing. Treat any single number as a guess. What can be checked is prize money, club moves, official posts and named sponsorship deals, and those drive the order below.

1. Ma Long net worth: estimates vary, no verified figure

Ma Long is widely seen as the richest table tennis player because he has the longest run of elite results and the deepest sponsor history in China. He won Olympic singles gold in 2016 and 2020 and team gold in 2012, 2016, 2020 and 2024, which makes six Olympic golds. He also took world singles titles in 2015, 2017 and 2019.

His tournament income has fallen as he stepped back. WTT’s 2024 prize money list placed him only 23rd overall, and the Chinese Table Tennis Association withdrew him from the ITTF world rankings at the end of 2024. In April 2025 he became a vice-president of the CTTA, a role that keeps him central to the sport in China.

2. Fan Zhendong net worth: estimates vary, no verified figure

Fan Zhendong has the most varied income of any active player. He won Olympic singles and team gold in Paris in 2024, team gold in Tokyo, and world singles titles in 2021 and 2023.

In June 2025 he joined German club 1. FC Saarbrücken, a move that brought a flood of ticket requests and new Chinese followers, according to ZDF. In his one season there the club won the league, cup and European title, finishing on 31 May 2026, and he is now moving to Borussia Düsseldorf. In August 2025 he also became a strategic investor and shareholder in Major League Table Tennis in the US, though the amount was not disclosed.

3. Wang Chuqin net worth: estimates vary, top WTT earner

Wang Chuqin is the current world No. 1 and the clearest example of where the money in table tennis now sits. He won the men’s singles world title in Doha in May 2025, beating Hugo Calderano 4-1, and took Olympic gold in Paris in mixed doubles and the team event.

He topped WTT’s 2024 men’s prize money list with more than $261,000, according to Butterfly’s summary of the WTT leaderboard, ahead of Lin Shidong. His sponsor list is what lifts him up this ranking: Louis Vuitton (February 2025), Kering-owned jeweller Qeelin (May 2025), skincare brand Winona (February 2026) and fragrance house Atelier Cologne (March 2026). Few athletes in the sport attract luxury labels of that kind.

4. Zhang Jike net worth: hit by a reported $3.1 million debt

Zhang Jike completed the career Grand Slam of Olympic, World Championship and World Cup titles faster than anyone before him. He won world titles in 2011 and 2013 and Olympic singles gold in London in 2012, and his fame brought TV work and large endorsement deals.

His finances took a public hit in 2023. Reports that spring alleged he owed about 22 million yuan, roughly $3.1 million, in gambling debts, according to Jing Daily. Anta, Toyota and nutrition brand Nuotelande ended their deals with him. His team denied the allegations. Any “Zhang Jike net worth” figure online that ignores this episode is out of date.

5. Wang Liqin net worth: estimates vary, now running Chinese table tennis

Wang Liqin won three world singles titles, in 2001, 2005 and 2007, and Olympic doubles gold in 2000. He retired in 2014 and built a career as a sports official in Shanghai.

In April 2025 he replaced Liu Guoliang as president of the Chinese Table Tennis Association, according to the South China Morning Post. That makes him the most powerful administrator in the sport’s richest market, with the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics as his first major target.

6. Jan-Ove Waldner net worth: estimates vary, no verified figure

Jan-Ove Waldner is the richest non-Chinese name on most lists because of his unusual standing in China. SVT describes him as one of the most admired foreign sports figures in the country, and that fame brought commercial work long after his peak.

On the table he won world titles in 1989 and 1997 and Olympic singles gold in Barcelona in 1992. Today he works as an expert commentator for SVT. In February 2026, aged 60, he announced a comeback in Sweden’s fourth division with Ingarö, the club where his older brother plays, according to TV4.

7. Timo Boll net worth: estimates vary, no verified figure

Timo Boll is the best-paid European player of his era. A former world No. 1 with four Olympic medals, he made his Bundesliga debut in 1996 at 15 and won his first German singles title in 1998.

He played his last professional match on 15 June 2025 in the Bundesliga final in Frankfurt for Borussia Düsseldorf, in front of a record crowd of about 4,000. Like Waldner, he is popular in China, which gave him access to sponsors well beyond the German market.

8. Liu Guoliang net worth: estimates vary, no verified figure

Liu Guoliang won Olympic singles and doubles gold in Atlanta in 1996 and the 1999 world singles title. His bigger influence came later, as national team head coach and then CTTA president.

He resigned the presidency in April 2025, aged 49, saying his successor needed time to prepare for Los Angeles 2028. Decades in senior posts give him one of the most stable incomes in the sport.

9. Wang Hao net worth: estimates vary, no verified figure

Wang Hao won the 2009 world singles title and three Olympic singles silvers, in 2004, 2008 and 2012, plus Olympic team gold.

After retiring he moved into coaching with the Chinese national team, which keeps him on a steady official salary rather than chasing prize money.

10. Jean-Michel Saive net worth: estimates vary, no verified figure

Jean-Michel Saive was world No. 1 in 1994, reached the world singles final in 1993 and played at seven Olympic Games. That longevity made him one of the best-known players outside Asia.

He later became president of the Belgian Olympic and Interfederal Committee, which gives him a public role and income well after his playing days.

Richest female table tennis player: Chen Jing

Chen Jing won Olympic women’s singles gold for China in Seoul in 1988. She later represented Chinese Taipei and won Olympic silver in 1996 and bronze in 2000. No verified net worth exists for her either. Among current women, Wang Manyu led WTT’s 2024 prize money list with $244,325.

How much do table tennis players earn from prize money?

Far less than in most major sports. In 2025 each WTT Grand Smash had a total prize pool of $1.5 million to $2 million, with China Smash the largest at $2 million, and the WTT Finals in Hong Kong offered $1.3 million. Those pools are shared across men’s and women’s singles, doubles and every round.

Compare that with the sums in our guides to the highest-paid footballers in the world or the richest basketball players, where one season’s salary can pass a table tennis player’s entire career earnings. Even the richest UFC fighters earn more per event than most table tennis stars earn in a year of prize money.

How we ranked these players

We weighed Olympic and world titles, years at the top, named sponsorship deals, club contracts and income from coaching or official roles. Where a hard figure exists, such as WTT prize money or a reported debt, we used it and dated it. We did not repeat net worth numbers from estimate sites as fact, because none cite a source. Chinese players dominate because sponsors in China pay far more than those elsewhere. For context on true fortunes, see our list of the richest people in the world.